Rate My Professor Elsie Harper-Anderson

Elsie Harper-Anderson, Ph.D., serves as Associate Professor and Ph.D. Program Director in Public Policy and Administration at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. She also directs the Urban and Regional Studies and Planning program within Public Policy and Administration. Her academic credentials include a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.S. in Public Management and Policy from Carnegie Mellon University’s H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, and a B.S. in Political Science from Lincoln University of Pennsylvania. Before entering academia, Harper-Anderson evaluated economic development, workforce development, and housing programs for federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Labor, Economic Development Administration, and Department of Housing and Urban Development, and administered federal housing and economic development programs at the local level.

Harper-Anderson’s research examines the effects of macroeconomic transformations on regional economies and urban labor markets, emphasizing social equity, sustainability, and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems. Her work explores connections between economic development and workforce development, entrepreneurship as a means to reduce disparities, and minority entrepreneurship challenges. Key publications include “What Makes Business Incubation Work? Measuring the Influence of Incubator Quality and Regional Capacity on Incubator Outcomes” (Economic Development Quarterly, 2018, co-authored with David A. Lewis), “Intersections of Partnership and Leadership in Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Comparing Three U.S. Regions” (Economic Development Quarterly, 2018), “Contemporary Entrepreneurship: Intersections of Business Formation, Work and Race in Chicago” (Urban Affairs Review, 2017), and “Exploring What Greening the Economy Means for African American Workers, Entrepreneurs, and Communities” (Economic Development Quarterly, 2012). She co-edited Racial Equity, COVID-19, and Public Policy: The Triple Pandemic (2023) with Susan Gooden and Jay Albanese. Harper-Anderson received the 2016 Wilder School Excellence in Teaching Award, serves on the City of Richmond’s Office of Community Wealth Building advisory board, chairs the Urban Affairs Association Governing Board, and is a member of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning’s Committee on Diversity. She was a former APPAM Entrepreneurship Policy Faculty Fellow, with research funded by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Chicago Urban League. She teaches courses on economic development, labor markets, and urban development policy.